1951 — Dec 20, Danish cargo/passenger motorship Erria fire, Columbia Riv. ~Astoria, OR-11

–11 Gibbs, James A. Pacific Graveyard. 1993, pp. 200-202.
–11 Marshall, Don. Oregon Shipwrecks. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Pubs., 1984 p. 164.

Narrative Information

Gibbs: “Danish Motorship Erria. Tragedy once again struck inside the mouth of the Columbia River at 2:30 a.m., December 20, 1951.

“The yacht-like, cargo-passenger liner Erria…was afire. The 8,786-ton ship was at anchor off Tongue Point, awaiting a favorable tide for crossing the Columbia River bar, when she suddenly broke out in a blaze of smoke and flame….

“Everything had happened so quickly aboard the ship that Captain Neils Agge, her master, was immediately forced to order hasty abandonment by all hands. Overpowering fumes filled the passageways as heroic crewmen, with gas masks and wet towels wrapped about their faces, pounded on stateroom doors in a frantic effort to awaken sleeping passengers and lead them to safety….Eleven failed to make it. Three crew members and eight passengers were trapped amidships. Later some of these passengers were found burned to a crisp, sitting in chairs in the ship’s lounge as if awaiting instructions. The death toll was tragic, but could have been much worse with its total 114 persons aboard the vessel….

“Following the tragic fire, inspectors of the Erria reasoned that the blaze started from a shorted wire amidships.”

Marshall: “Erria 12/20/1951 Motor, cargo, passenger vessel of the Danish East-Asiatic Line. In the road at Astoria with a fire caused by an electrical short. Within 10 minutes after the first fire alarm, Captain M. Agge ordered the 450’ ship cleared of her passengers. Out of the 83 crew and 31 passengers, eight passengers in cabins and three crewmen in #5 hold died.” (p. 164.)

Newspaper

Dec 20: “Astoria, Ore., Dec. 20—(AP)—The coast guard said today eight passengers and three crewmen ‘possibly are missing’ from the Danish motor-ship Erria, burning in the couth of the Columbia river.

“The coast guard said 23 passengers and 80 crew members have been accounted for. These estimates were based on the belief 114 persons were aboard the ship when it anchored just inside the mouth of the stream to await clearing weather before attempting to cross the bar. Crew members were unable to say positively how many passengers were aboard.

“In San Francisco, the East Asiatic lines said eight passengers and three crewmen were unaccounted for at 9 a.m., but emphasized hope had not been abandoned for them.

“The coast guard reported one of four lifeboats launched from the Erria was missing, and might have some of the 11 aboard. Planes went up to hunt it.

“….Most of the passengers were on a pleasure cruise down the west coast and through the Panama canal to New York….” (Associated Press. “11 Missing After Fire on Ship in Columbia.” Daily Chronicle, Centralia, OR, 12-20-1951, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “11 Missing After Fire on Ship in Columbia.” Daily Chronicle, Centralia, OR, 12-20-1951, p. 1. Accessed 4-18-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-daily-chronicle-dec-20-1951-p-1/

Gibbs, James A. Pacific Graveyard. A Narrative of Shipwrecks Where the Columbia River Meets the Pacific Ocean. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 1993.

Marshall, Don. Oregon Shipwrecks. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 1984.